Ball-rolling apparatus



Feb. 27, 1923.

F. M. CANDA' I BALL ROLLING APPARATUS Filed Oct 28, 1919 2 sheets-sheet 1 A TTORNEYI Feb. 27,1923.

F-. M. CANDA BALL ROLLING APPARATUS Filed 001;. '28, 1919 2 sheets-sheet 2 "ll-l QINVENTOR.

drawings, and will Patented Feb. 27, 1923.

FERDINAND MORA CANDA, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

BALL-ROLLING APPARATUS.

Application filed October 28-, 1919. Serial No. 334,080..

To all whom'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FERDINAND MoRA CANDA, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Ball-Rolling Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for forming balls, and is particularly intended for forming, from wrought iron or steel, balls adapted to'be used in crusher mills and the like, but is also adapted and intended for forming balls of other materials and for other uses-for example, lead shrapnel balls, lead shot, glass balls of various types and uses, etc. My invention comprises a main grooved ball forming roll, together with a plurality of other rolls adapted for holding against the said main roll the material to be formed into balls, and together with means for separating and drawing together said main roll and said other rolls which, fordistinction, I will term pressure rolls. Other features of my invention will be pointed out hereinafter.

The object of my invention is to form balls, particularly of iron or steel, relatively inexpensively, rapidly, and by simple ap aratus.

will now proceed to describe my invention with reference to the accompanying then point out the novel features in claims:

Figure 1 shows a transverse vertical section, and Figure 2 a side elevation and partial verticalsection of one form of ball rolling apparatus embodying my invention.

Figure 3 shows a vertical transverse section of an alternative form of ball rolling apparatus embodying my invention, and Figure 4 a side elevation and partial vertical section thereof. 1

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2: 1 designates a suitable frame, and 2 the main grooved ball forming roll previously referred to. 3-3 designates the said pressure rolls, which are mounted in bearings 4, which slide up and down in ways in frame 1, and are connected by a cross-bar 5. This cross-bar 5 and the bearings i are arranged to be raised or forced down by ram devices 6 controlled by a valve 7. These ram devices 6 may be considered diagrammatic illustrations of any suitable means for movbeing caused to take ing the rolls 3 toward and from the roll 2, and I do not limit myself to any particular means for the purpose. 8 designates a cable which may be'laid over suitable pulleys and thence connected to .a counter-weight, as well known in this art, to reduce the work required in raising the rolls 3. r

9 designates a bar of material to be rolled into balls, and is shown in place between roll-2 and rolls 3. I have not indicated any particular means for rotating roll 2, but may employ for the purpose any suitable means. No particular means for rotating the pressure rolls 3 is required, as these rolls will commonly be rotated by friction with the rotating material 9. However, positive drive of the rolls 3 is not precluded and is within my invention.

The operation of my improved ball roll ing machine is as follows: Rolls 3 having been raised somewhat, a bar 9 of'material to be rolled into balls is introduced between roll 2 and said rolls 3, and the rolls 3 are then lowered to hold this bar in place, and to i press it against roll 2. This roll 2 being in rotation, the-bar 9 is rotated between rolls 2 and 3, and by the pressure exerted by rolls 2 and the grooving action of the ribs of the roll 2, and also of the rolls 3, the material of said bar is forced into the grooves of said 'rolls during its rotation,

a form to the circular form of the grooves of roll 2, except that, of course, while the contour of the grooves'of roll 2 is semi-circular, the sections into which the bar 9 is divided by the grooving action above referred to, become eventually spherical.

It will be observed that the grooves in rolls 3 are not semi-circular in profile but are rather oval. This is for the reason that since, as appears clearly from Figure 1, the two rolls can never approach roll 2 so closely that the bar 9 may enter the grooves of rolls 3 to half its diameter, there is no need 100 of making the grooves in rolls 3 of the same depth as the grooves of roll 2. In fact, except for the tendency of the material of the bar to extend longitudinally, particularly near the 'ends of said bar,instead of moving 105 .toward the centres of the ball sections, there would be no occasion for grooving the rolls 3 at all. But I have found that the material acted upon does have a tendency to flow out longitudinally, particularly at the ends of 119 corresponding the bar, and this action is obviated by the ribs of the rolls 3.

By the rolling action referred to the bar 9 is reduced to a series of ball-like objects connected by narrow necks; which necks are finally severed or broken as the rolling of the balls proceeds, after which the separated balls usually turn to new axes of rotation, so that the teats (the remnants of the said necks) at the former axes of rotation of each ball, are rolled into the body of the ball, and the metal of the balls is condensed and rendered very solid throughout. Of course, in the case of iron or steel, glass, or similar materials, the bar is, at the time of introduction, in a heated condition suitable for rolling. Commonly, in the case of iron or steel, and similarmaterials, the initial diameter of the ball is somewhat less than the diameter of the finished balls, the metal being pressed toward the equatorial portions of the balls from the sides thereof, during the rolling operation, so that the ball sections increase somewhat in diameter as the metal enters deeply into the grooves of rolls 2 and 3, and attain ball-form; though if the material treated be of somewhatspongy nature, so asto be capable of a considerable degree of compresslon and con densation, it'is possible that the initial diameter of the bar may be the same as, or even greater than, that of the finished ball. As the diameters of the balls increase it may be desirable. to slightly retract the rolls 3. When the balls are completed, rolls 3 are retracted, and the balls then drop-out between rolls 3 and roll 2. A new bar is then introfluced, and the operation repeated.

I The machine above described is one in which the operation of rolling the balls is very completely under control of the operator, who may advance or retract rolls 3 as required to regulate properly the pressure exerted on the material-to be treated, or the time of treatment. He can regulate, the time during which the material is being rolled between the rolls in accordance with the degree of hardness of the material as de termined either by its nature or its tempera ture; in a word, the machine is a true machine tool, as distinguished from a mere automatic machine.

In the alternative construction shown in Figures 3 and 4. the pressure rolls 3 are located beneath the main hall forming roll 2?, a posltion which facilitates the admiss on of the bar 9 between the rolls. To facllitate removal of the balls, when finished, stationary dislodging fingers 10 are provided, whlch, when rolls 3 are lowered, pass through the groove-spaces between rolls 3, so lifting the balls lying in said groove-spaces, and causing said balls to roll off from the rolls.

In companion cases. Serial No. 332,28-l and Patent No. 1,367,299, I have illustrated other forms of ball rolling apparatus employing a plurality of main grooved ball forming rolls, positively driven. Themachine of the present application is distinguished from the machines of said other applications, in that it has one grooved main hall-forming roll only, against which the material to be rolled is held by a plurality of pressure rolls.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a ball rolling apparatus, the combination of a main grooved ball-forming roll and a plurality of pressure rolls arranged to hold material to be rolled against said main roll, and adjusta'bly controlled means for pressing saidpressure rolls toward the main roll.

2. In a ball rolling apparatus, the combination of a main grooved ball-forming roll, and a plurality of pressure rolls rotatably mounted in close proximity to each other and to the said main roll, and with that main roll enclosing a space within which material to be rolled may lie, and adjustably controlled means for pressing said pressure rolls toward the main roll.

8. In a ball rolling apparatus, the combination of a main grooved ball-forming roll and a plurality of correspondingly grooved.

pressure rolls arranged to hold material to be rolled against said main roll, and adjustably controlled means for pressing said pressure rolls toward the main roll.

4. In a ball rolling apparatus, the combination of a main grooved ball-forming roll, and a plurality of correspondingly grooved pressure rolls rotatably' mounted in close proximity to each other and to the said main roll, and with that main roll enclosing a space within which material to be rolled may lie, and adjustably controlled means for pressing said pressure rolls toward the main roll.

5. In a ball rolling apparatus, the combi nation of a suitable frame, a main grooved ball-forming roll having hearings in said frame, a plurality of pressure rolls arranged to hold material to be rolled against said mainroll, bearings for said pressure rolls slidably mounted in said frame, and adjustably controlled means for moving said pressure rollstoward and from the main roll.

6. In ,a ball rolling apparatus, the combination of a suitable frame, a main grooved ball-forming roll rotatably mounted in said frame. a cross-bar having sliding hearings in said frame and arranged to move toward and from said main roll in such bearings, a

plurality of pressure rolls mounted in bearnation of a main grooved ball-forming roll, a plurality of pressure rolls arranged to hold material to be rolled against said main roll, means for moving the pressure rolls toward and from the main roll, and means for dislodging the balls from said pressure rolls when the latter-are retracted from the main rol 8. In-a ball rolling apparatus, the combination ofa main grooved ball-forming roll. a plurality of grooved pressure rolls arranged to hold material to be rolled against said main roll, means for moving the pressure rolls toward and from the main roll, and dislodging fingers adapted to pass through the groove-spaces of said pressure rolls as the latter are retracted and to engage and dislodge balls resting on said pressure rolls.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FERDINAND MORA CANDA.

\Vitnesses IRWIN J. STURiwnvALn, H. M; MARBLE. 

